St. Cloud State University Foundation

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New endowment supports knowledge through travel

In 2007, Bennet Melinís '63 travels included a stop near the ancient oasis
city of Turpan, in northwest China.

Bennett Melin ’63 believes deeply in the new endowment
that bears his family’s name.

The $30,000 endowment, combined with matching dollars from
the University, should provide three annual scholarships for international
travel, primarily in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Applicants must be
pursuing a social sciences degree.

"I hope these scholarships will encourage students from
St. Cloud State to reach out on their own, as they travel individually
or in small groups around the many developing nations of Asia," Melin
said.

Melin established the endowment in memory of his parents,
Wallace and Violet. He and three siblings traveled widely with their parents
on meticulously planned educational vacations that took Bennett to 48 states
by the time he entered college. He graduated from St. Cloud State College
in 1963 with a double major in history and geography, then taught high
school in Minnesota for six years. He earned a master’s degree in
secondary education from Michigan State University and worked for international
petroleum companies for 35 years. Melin is semi-retired and lives in Houston,
Texas.

Melin hopes scholarship recipients will "understand
the vast cultural landscape this world holds, not necessarily to embrace
those ideas, but rather to understand them and hopefully be able to accept
them on an equal footing with our American values."

"Go out and see the world for yourself," Melin said. "It’s
just one of several ways of becoming better educated."